UFC, Pride merger brings hyperbole normally reserved for Tiger Woods

you don't understand why this story is so huge because you write about Golf. Frankly I don't understand the big deal about Tiger Woods. And your understanding of mixed martial arts is like me saying golf is nothing more than someone trying to get a ball in a hole. Yes, it's an intriguing sport I'm sure.
So why would you write a story about MMA then? It's a big story in the news but it looks like you just want an opportunity to jump on the bandwagon and write this sport off. Do us all a favor and stick to the Tiger Woods love, leave the MMA writing to people who understand and love the sport.

Wait a minute, so you are saying that every MMA fight you have seen looks the same and ends the exact same way?

You do realize you are writing for a golf Website right? Quite possibly the dullest spectator "sport" ever?

Ya Wolfrum I agree with Art, you just write about other stuff because you know golf is boring. Tito dates Jenna Jameson (and probably has genitalia comparable to the Empire State Building). What golfers are dating porn stars????

Typical MMA basher, completely you miss the point, so allow me to explain it to you.

If you were going to attack the Fertitta quote as being full of hyperbole you would've done better to attack the part where he said that this could make MMA as popular as soccer.

Comparing the AFL/NFL merger to the joining of UFC and Pride is not a reach at all. The latter will ultimately have the same impact on competition as did the former. Think about it, what successful pro football leagues have sprung up since the AFL and NFL merger and offered the new NFL any real competition?

The level of talent under the UFC/Pride umbrella will make it just as difficult for any other company to seriously compete. Some will try just as many have tried against the NFL, but if anyone makes a name for himself in a competing group they will probably be signed by the Fertittas at the earliest opportunity with the promise of more money and the ability to be a bigger star by competing against the top competition in the world. Sound at all familiar in any sport?

Surely, as someone who makes a living in a world that often requires the use of quotes for a story you should know that usually there is what a person says and what they really mean in a given statement. You figured out what he said but missed the point on what he really meant.

Oh, and last thing, you've obviously seen few if any MMA bouts based on your description of what happens.

"What golfers are dating porn stars????"

This one did 16 years ago.

Unlike golf, it didn't take MMA about 150 years to have minority stars.

You're kidding me. "Rules are few and far between?" It's clear if you think that you have very little understanding of the world of Mixed Martial Arts. There are pages of rules set by state athletic comissions that tell fighters what they can and can't do in the ring.

Zuffa LLC's purchase of PRIDE is simply huge in the world of mixed martial arts. You can pooh-pooh the comparison to the AFL-NFL if you wish, but know whereof you speak. This isn't football, it's MMA. For those of us that are fans, it's really that huge in our thinking.

I appreciate golf, it's a great sport, and Tiger is perhaps the greatest player of all time. But your contention that he could "kick all their asses" is juvenile and incorrect. Gee, there's a PPV...Liddell-Woods for the Light Heavyweight Belt...Or maybe Anderson Silva for the Middleweight. I'll admit I have trouble gauging weight classes by eye. No disrespect to Tiger, he's awesome, but if you put him in the ring with one of these guys, he'll be tapping out in under 60 seconds.

Which brings me to why I think you wrote this article, and in particular, made your comment. Like most other journalists who didn't give a rusty you-know-what about MMA because it wasn't boxing or some other "more acceptable" form of combat sport, you missed the boat, and now realizing that MMA is the fastest growing sport today, are trying to ride the wave. Empire State Building notwithstanding, I'd like to see if you have the stones it takes to stand across the ring/cage/mat from someone who is just as lethal as you are and take them on. Since your tone is combative, it's a fair challenge.

The other clue that you don't know what you're watching is how you describe the ground game. I'll openly admit that I've seen "lay and pray" fighters, and that IS boring...but it's the minority of fights. My sincere suggestion here is that you take the time to learn a little about what you're so roundly criticizing. Here's why. I used to think there was no more boring sport to watch on television than Golf. Until I played it. Then I could appreciate personally the level of skill guys like Tiger Woods and Mike Weir et al. have. Maybe go take a few lessons in some version of Jiu-Jitsu (I suggest Brazillian, they teach ground game).

Seriously, bro...Lorenzo Fertitta's enthusiasm comes from a love of the sport. World domination is for the young. ;)

I thought this piece was very well written, good work! Excellent analogies!

To those fans of the UFC or MMA or any other fighting sport - he wasn't insulting the sport with his original comment. True, afterward he took some liberties with his cheap shots (pun intended).

His orginal comment was that this fighter was comparing the significance of the merger to that of something that carried great import. The NFL is billion dollar annual industry. Whereas MMA will probably Never gross 5 billion dollars... ever.

So the significance was quite small in comparison to that of the AFL-NFL merger. It would be like comparing your buddy Bob hooking up with that chick at the Burger King to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

Again, well written!

There is no comparison of Golf with MMA, the only comparison is that, they both are sports that's it.